It reads like the kind of thought-provoking hypothetical your cool high school history teacher who sat not behind but ON TOP OF his desk and called everyone by their last names might have thrown out: Should Germany have its own Veterans Day?

For German Defense Minister Thomas de Maizière, the answer is clear: Ja, why not?

Germany has not observed a Veterans Day since the Third Reich. It has no official day of remembrance to commemorate the seven million German servicemen who died in World Wars I and II.

What it does have is a public day of mourning, Volkstrauertag, observed on November 11th, which honors both soldiers and civilians killed in war, as well as all victims of violent oppression.

De Maizière originally proposed tacking Germany's Veterans Day onto that day — a suggestion met with much criticism. He switched his recommendation to May 22.